How to counter an AWPer in CS:GO

Let’s face it, if you have been playing CS:GO for a while you must have gotten absolutely demolished by an enemy AWPer at least a couple of times. An AWPer is a player who uses the AWP in the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and usually sits in one spot and “camps” at a long distance. Here is a few easy tips and precautions you can take to ensure that you are able to turn the tables on a camping sniper.

Lets first understand how the AWP functions. The AWP is a high-powered sniper rifle that one shots a player regardless of where they have been hit. That is unless they have been shot below the neck with a glass window between the players. An AWPer generally has only one shot to try and take you out unless they are at a long distance allowing them to quickly move to cover. It generally takes the AWP approx. 0.9 seconds to load another bullet into the chamber so if you manage to dodge the first shot, you will most probably win the interaction. The following tips will make sure you do not get shot through a thin wood door or plaster wall (also known as a wallbang) or sniped at a distance most of the time.

A player using an AWP in CS:GO

1. Peek before firing back

When at a corner, you should always perform quick shoulder peek to get a sense of where your enemy is positioned and to bait them into attacking you first. A shoulder peek is an easy maneuver performed by alternately spamming your left and right movement keys such that in under a second you can see around the corner and return to safety.

Such a maneuver forces the AWPer to waste a shot leaving them out in the open, vulnerable. With a little bit of accuracy and a few tap shots from your rifle will end an annoying AWPer’s life. Alternatively if you have a friend they can peek out just after the AWPer has shot to take them out.

2. Buying utilities and using them

At the beginning of a round, during the buy period, if you have extra cash to spare, you should always invest in grenades, mainly the flash bangs and smokes. These help you perform extremely tactical plays and will catch the enemy off guard.

Mirage Smoked in the middle to prevent an AWPer

Suppose you and your team are pushing Bomb Site “B” and unfortunately there is an enemy AWPer who has seated himself in the market behind the little window-door and is scoped in on the open area in front of you till the White Van. Your teammate tries to jump and run past but has little luck and his existence is no more. With a single Flash Grenade, if dropped just in front of you , you can force the AWPer to look away for exactly 4 seconds and you can rush and take over the site. Even a smoke grenade would provide cover if thrown tactfully.

3. Keep Moving

A common misconception present in the minds of newbie’s is that they try to “headshot” the AWPer by stopping and crouching for more accuracy. This is completely useless and one must try to get rid of this bad habit. The enemy has a scoped weapon that kills you with ONE SHOT so the last thing you want to do is try to challenge the AWPer to an aim battle.

Standing still just provides the enemy with a static target that they only need to click on, making it very easy for the enemy compared to if you are moving between shots.

4. Wait for backup

If you feel like you may have bitten off more than you can chew with the enemy AWPer, there is no harm in calling for assistance or waiting for your teammates to come to your rescue. The presence of multiple targets may cause the AWPer to be overwhelmed by the situation, causing him to fall back. This frees up the area of the map that the enemy AWPer was holding allowing your team more map control.

AWP | Dragon Lore – The most expensive AWP in CS:GO

Conclusion

These are the 4 basic beginner tips that will greatly assist you against AWPers. These are the simplest yet the most effective techniques that one can possess knowledge of. If sometimes these don’t work, that’s all right, because there’s no harm in admitting that the enemy player is more experienced and that is merely good sportsmanship.

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About Us

I'm just your average addicted Counter Strike: Global Offensive gamer with over 3,350 total hours clocked in game. I get asked a lot of questions about Counter Strike every time I play so I decided to compile all that information together here for the world to see.

I focus on Counter Strike: Global Offensive guides, updates and videos and am always researching new ways to get that little bit more of an advantage in game.